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BETTY    SPRING    ROAD. 


jfavorttc  2>rivc6 


Hrounb  (3ar6ncr 


BY 


QMARLE5  b.   BURRAQE 


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LLUSTRATED   FROM  ORIGINAL    PHOTOGRAPHS. 


FROM    PAPERS    READ     BEFORE     THE    MONDAY 
CLUB  AND  GARDNER  INSTITUTE.       .-.       .-.       .-. 


The  Original   Drawings   By 
Charles   H.  Stratton. 


Press  of  the  Gardner  News 
Company. 


Copyright,  1896, 
By  Charles  D.  Burrage. 


Xtst  of  miustrations. 


I.     Betty  Spring  Road, 


Page. 

Frontispiece. 


9- 

lO. 

II. 

12. 

13- 
14. 

15- 
16. 

17- 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 

23- 
24. 

25- 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 
31- 

32- 


Initial— Sedge,  (Drawing)     . 
Betty  Spring  Road,    . 
Tomb  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Osgood, 
Crystal  Lake, 

Betty's  Spring 

Moneses,  Pyrola  and  Pip- 

sissewa, 
Buckbean,   . 
Pale  Laurel,     . 
Labrador  Tea, 
Oldest  Cellar-hole, 
Bed  of  Indian  Pipe, 
Worthington  Park, 
Azalea, 
Columbine, 
Pogonia, 
Calopogon, 
Home  of  the  Azalea. 
Moccasin  Flower,   . 
Wild  Calla, 
Andalusite  Crystals, 

Chapel  Place 

Purple-fringed  Orchis, 

The  Woods  near  Crystal  Lake, 

(Drawing),    .... 
Pitcher  Plant, 
Great  Green  Orchis, 
Ragged-fringed  Orchis, 
Meadow  Lily,     .... 
Snowy  Owl,     .... 
Old  Stump  (Drawing),      . 
The  Kneeland  Place, 
The  Bed  of  the  Brook,  (The 

Cardinal  Flower), 


9 
10 
II 
12 
13 
13 
14 
15 
16 
16 

17 
18 

20 
21 
21 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 

26 


Near  the  Kneeland  Place, 

Rhodora,     .... 

Bickford-Travers  Mill-dam. 

Jackson  House, 

Twin  Flower, 

In  the  Woods  by  Crystal  Lake 
(Drawing),    . 
39-40      The  Old  Railroad  Cut, 
41.     The  Coolidge  Place,  . 

Redemption  Rock, 

Redemption  Rock— the 
Inscription,   . 

Crystal  Lake,  (The  Sheep-pen 

Crystal  Lake,  (The  Upper 
Cove),     .... 

46.  Fringed  Gentians,  . 

47.  Closed  Gentians, 

48.  An  Orchis,        .... 

49.  Cardinal  Flower, 

50.  The  Coolidge  Place,  . 

51.  Many-flowered  Indian  Pipe. 

52.  Skull,   (Drawing),  . 

53.  The  Whispering  Pines, 

54.  Bailey  Brook, 

55.  Lake  Denison,    . 

56.  Blueberry  Blossoms, 

57.  Beryl  Mine, 

58.  Lake  Denison, 

59.  Ladies'  Tresses, 

60.  White-fringed  Orchis,    . 

61.  Tomahawk,  (Tail-piece), 

62.  Map  of  Roads  of  Gardner 

63.  Map  of  Early  Settlers, 


Page. 

27 
28 

29 
30 
31 

•  32 

•  34 
35 

•  36 

),  37 

•  38 
39 

.     40 

JO 

.     40 

•  41 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 

47 
48 

49 
50 
51 


Scale, 

2  Mi/es   to  art  Inch. 


"Vwt   ^0At^5      Of     O-AKii'^'E'^^     ■^'^1^    VlCLYlTy 


( 


jfavovitc  IDrivcs  Hrounb  (3arbnei\ 


"  I  have  learned 
To  look  on  nature,  not  as  in  the  hour 
Of  thoughtless  youth." 

—  IVordszi'otih. 


We  are  ]nit  here  to  secrete  something 
everlasting  out  of  nature." 

—  'I'/ioiiias  Sfarr  A'/z/i''. 


UR  hill-town  of  (lardncr,  sittiated  on  the  highest 
part  of  the  backlxjne  of  the  .state,  on  the  cre.st 
of  the  ridge  between  Wachnsett  and  Monad- 
nock,  i.s  1 200  feet  aljove  the  sea,  and  in  suni- 
nier  all  the  breezes  of  New  Ivngland  fan  her 
brow.  The  waters  flow  awa}-  in  every  direc- 
tion ;  to  the  west  by  Otter  River,  to  the  north  by  Miller's  River,  to  the 
east  by  the  Nashtia,  and  to  the  .sotith  by  a  Inanch  of  the  Ware  River. 
The  roof-tree  of  more  than  one  honse  in  Gardner  divides  the  rain  drops 
as  they  fall,  to  send  part  to  the  Connecticut  and  the  Sottnd,  and  part  to 
the  ocean  above  Cape  Ann.  No  wonder  she  can  1)oa.st  the  best  record 
in  the  Commonwealth  for  the  smallest  percentage  of  deaths  from  con- 
sumption. Built  on  the  tops  of  her  seven  hills,  whichever  wa}'  we  go 
is  "down-hill."  Winchendon  lies  200  feet  below  to  the  north  and  400 
feet  to  the  west ;   Templeton  from  400  feet  below  at  Baldwinville  to  only 


"The  birds  sing  in  the  branches." 

famous  in   New    Enjrlaiul. 


lOO  feet  at  the  Centre,  on  the  brow  of  Dolbier  hill  ;      Hubbardston  and 
Westminster,  200  feet  below,  and  Ashburnham  on  the  east,  where  the 

villages  are,  200  feet  below,  while  Fitch- 
burg,  twelve  miles  away,  lies  700  feet  below. 
Gardner  has  many  pleasant  drives 
through  the  woods  within  and  beyond  her 
l)orders,  and  the  .stranger  may  safely  take 
an}'  road,  confident  that  he  will  find  beauties 
on  every  side  ;  dark  woods  inviting  him  to 
their  cool  rece.sses  ;  silvery  streams  reflect- 
ing the  enchantments  of  the  sylvan  shades 
on  their  banks ;  flowers  in  profiision  on 
either  hand,  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rain- 
bow ;  and  from  every  hill-top  views  rivall- 
ing in  magnificence  the  choicest  and  most 
For  not  even  from  famous  Rounil  Hill, 
in  Northampton,  looking  down  upon  the  wide  Connecticut  meadows, 
with  the  ribbon  of  the  river  winding  through  them,  nor  from  the  Berk- 
shire Hills  around  the  Lenox  bowl,  nor  from  the  Blue  Hills  of  Milton, 
half  lost  in  soft  haze  from  the  ocean,  are  there  afforded  such  glorious 
and  exten.sive  views  of  hills,  woods,  lakes  and  mountains — the  peculiar 
charm  of  the  New  England  landscape — as  those  from  our  own  Gard- 
ner hills. 

Each  drive  has  its  special  charm,  however  ;  one  because  of  a  par- 
ticular view,  another  because  the  haunt  of  a  rare 
wild  flower  that  grows  nowhere  else,  and  others 
because  of  the  .stories  of  the  deserted  ' '  cellar- 
holes"  by  the  way,  marking  the  sites  of  ancient 
home.steads. 

The  drives  around  Gardner  are  beautiful 
because  the.}-  are  through  a  country  still  left  to 
nature,  where  the  brush  by  the  roadside  screens 
the  fields,  and  the  woods  have  not  .seen  tlu 
woodman's  axe  for  a  generation.  Every  yedi 
sees  .some  great  tract  of  woodland  despoiled  ot 
its  royal  crown,  but  every  year  also  sees  old 
sprout  lots  become  full-grown  woods,  that  hicU 
the  heavens  from  us  as  we  eagerly  seek  their 
depths.  Even  before  the  trees  grow  large  enough 
to  choke  to  death  the  berry  bu.shes  they  invited 
in  their  .struggling  youth,  we  rejoice  with  them  in  their  coming  glory 


Tomb  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Osgood, 

'I'hc  I'irst   Settled  Minister. 


BETTY'S   SPRING. 


When 


Zbc  JSett^  Sprina  1Roa&. 


"The  south  wind  wanders  from  field  to  forest, 
And  softly  whispers,  '  The  Spring  is  here," 

we  first  of  all  turn  our  horse's  head  eastward,  passing  from  the  busy 
town  streets  at  once  into  the  shade  of  the  overhanging  and  "  venerable 
woods"   at   Betty's   Spring,  the    choicest   spot  in   Gardner,  where   the 

birds  sing  in  the  branches,  and,  at 
evening,  the  plaintive  cry  of  the 
whip-poor-will  echoes  the  shrill  call 
of  the  quail.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  present   century,  two   Indians, 


Moneses. 


Pyrola. 


Pipsissewa. 


Betty  and  her  husband  Jonas,  last  of 

their    tribe,    lived   on    the    side-hill 

above  the  spring  since  called  1)y  her 

name,  in  the  cottage  built  by  one  of 

the  early  settlers,  John  Miles.    Only 

the  cellar  now  remains.      Before  this 

they   lived   a   few   rods   ])eyond   the 

railroad  crossing    on   the    right,   on 

the    Beech    Hill    road,    where    faint 

traces    of    the    cellar    may    still    be 

found    in    the    woods.      Afterwards, 

with   a   nephew   named  Jodorus,  they   moved    to  the  Temple   place   on 

Green  street,  and  died  there.     In  the  shadow  of  the  woods  by  Betty's 

Spring,   beneath  the  great  trees, 

"  Huge  trunks  and  each  particular  trunk  a  growth 

Of  intertwisted  fibres  serpentine 

Upcurling  and  inveterately  convolved," 


Buckbean. 


benjamins  (  Ttillium  erediim  )  abound,  and  the  painted  trillium  (  Tril- 
lium erythrocarpum  )  with  its  white  face.  Here  we  find  the  mayflower 
(Epigcva  rcpens)  nestling  in  its  bed  of  snow,  and  Jack-in-the-pulpit 
(  Ariscca  triphyllum  )  preaching  to  hundreds  of  his  brothers.  A 
little  later  the  whole  hillside  under  the  century -old  trees  blossoms 
out,  for  the  foam  flower  (  Tiarella  cordifolia  )  and  the  Canada  Ma}'- 
flower  (  Maia)ithemuvi  Canadc7ise  )  hide  the  many  violets  as  they 
change  from  yellow  to  white  and  to  ])urple,  and  the  glad  yellow  of  the 
Clintonia    borcalis   grows   richer    in    the    moss.      Here,    in   sunnner,  the 


Pale  Laurel. 

wax-like  members  of  the  heath  famil}-  tempt  us  by  their  profusion,  for 
the  shin-leaf,  or  lily-of-the-valley  (  Pvrola  cUiptica  )  grows  in  beds  by 
the  side  of  the  shining-leaved  Princes'  pine,  or  Pipsissewa  {Chimophila 
umbcllata) ,  near  the  beautiful,  one-flowered  pyrola  {  Moneses  grandi- 
flora  ),  and  their  degenerate  cousin,  the  parasitic  Indian  pipe  (  Mono- 
tropa  7iniflora  ),  the  ghost-flower,  or  corpse  plant,  hides  its  pure  white 
stalks  in  the  depths  of  the  woods  among  the  dead  leaves.  The  brook 
at  the  edge  of  the  woods  runs  murmuring  through  the  meadow  and 
loses  itself  beneath  the  heavy  growth  bej^ond.  On  the  hillside  huge 
boulders  lie   strewn  about  in  picturesque  abandon,  as   if  just   from  the 


hands  of  giants  wearied  in  play.  From  the  woods  little  streams  come 
trickling  to  the  meadow,  making  nooks  and  dells  and  glens,  where  the 
ferns,  undisturbed,  speak   in   every   delicate   frond,    of  the   sanctity  of 


Labrador  Tea. 

nature  inviolate,  and  the  harsh  noises  from  the  town's  pushing, 
hustling,  money-making  factories  sink  into  softness,  recalling  man's 
universal   kinship.     These   rough,  worn  hill-sides,  scarred  and  seamed 


by  storms,  and  covered  with  the  growths  of  a  century,  with  their  grassy 
knolls  and  beds  of  flowers,  inviting  retreats  and  shady  nooks,  appeal  to 
the  desire  for  rest  and  peace  instinctive  in  us  all,  a  longing  becoming 
pathetic  in  its  intensity  in  such  a  busy,  hard-working  town  as  Gardner. 

'■  These  shades 
Are  still  the  abodes  of  gladness;  the  thick  roof 
Of  green  and  stirring  branches  is  alive 
And  musical  with  birds,  that  sing  and  sport 
In  wantonness  of  spirit." 


The  Uldest  Cellar-Hole. 

On  the  left  from  Pearl  street,  half  a  mile  from  the  road,  almost 
hidden  by  the  bushes  growing  around  it,  is  the  oldest  cellar-hole  in 
Gardner,  and  the  only  one  whose  history  is  lost.  The  eighteen-inch 
stump  of  a  pine  tree  that  grew  in  its  centre  indicates  an  abandonment 
long  before  the  settlement  of  the  town.  A  few  narrow,  hand-made 
brick  of  ancient  pattern  and  the  iron  crane  that  once  hung  in  the  stone 
chimney,  attest  the  presence  of  a  white  man,  as  does  the  deep  cellar 
itself  ;   but  all  else  is  gone  forever. 

In  these  woods  a  favored  maiden  once  found  the  rare  white  ladies' 
slipper  (  Cypripedii{w  caudidiou  ) ,  perhaps  the  onl>'  one  ever  found  in 
Worcester  Count  v. 


lO 

Just  beyond  the  town  "dump"  on  Pearl  street,  on  the  knoll,  is 
a  cellar  hole  once  occupied  by  the  house  of  Bezaleel  Hill,  who  left  town 
in  1812.  He  was  a  famous  inventor,  an  original  of  Darius  Green,  as 
he  invented  a  flying  machine  and,  with  great  wings  on  his  arms,  leaped 
from  his  second-story  window.  The  story  runs  that  he  said  the  flying 
was  all  right,  but  it  was  the  stopping  that  hurt. 

Slowly  we  leave  these  woods 

"Where,  when  the  sunshine  struck  a  yellow  shade 
The  rugged  trunks,  to  inward  peeping  sight 
Thronged  in  dark  ])illars  up  the  gold  green  light," 

to  drive  straight  on  to  Westminster,  all  the  way  a  delight. 


Worlhington  Park. 

The  delicate  wild  geranium  (  Goaiiiiiiii  iiiacu/atiiiii  )  and,  in  sum- 
mer, the  wood  lily  (  Lilium  Philadclphicniii  )  and  clover  head  polygala 
(  Polygala  sanguiriea  )  brighten  the  roadside  with  their  beds  of  color. 
Or  we  may  turn  through  Temple  street  and  go  under  the  railroad  to 
climb  Barber  hill,  and  then  by  little-used  roads  past  Topliet  swamp  to 
the  village  of  Westminster,  rettirning  through  the  woods  and  swamps 
on  the  "turnpike"  to  South  Gardner,  picking  the  white  swamp  honey- 
suckle   (  RJiododendron   zdscosum  )    blooming   in  the  very   midst  of  the 


II 


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12 

waters,  and  the  snake's  head  {  Chelo)ie glabra)  s\\ov;'n\g  white  in  the 
edge  of  the  woods. 

The  old  County  road  did  not  run  through  these  swamps,  but  bore 
off  to  the  south,  passing  over  the  hill  above  the  Baptist  church,  past 
Wright's  mill  and  on  the  side  hill  just  below  the  original  Jonathan 
Greenwood  house,  a  route  long  ago  discontinued  and  now  almost  oblit- 
erated. 

Near  the  old  cellar-hole  on  the  top  of  Wright's  hill,  where  the 
first   house    (burned   in    iSoS  )    l)nilt   by    Joseph    Wright  stood,  is  the 


Columbine. 

ancient  well,  and  by  its  side  a  large  stone  willi  a  circular  hollow  in  its 
top  that  the  family  used  for  nian\-  years  as  a  wash  fjasin.  It  was  possi- 
bly in  use  before  their  time  by  the  Indians  as  a  mortar  for  grinding 
corn . 

A  visit,  one  day  in  early  spring,  to  the  "old  quag  "  by  the  railroad, 
near  East  street,  a  favorite  resort  of  the  village  boys  for  generations, 
rewarded  us  with  the  purple  blossoms  of  the  ]ntcher-plant  (  Sanaccnia 
purpurea  ) ;  the  fresh  and  attractive  white  stalks  of  the  buckbean 
{Menyanthes  irifoliata  ) ,  a  rare  flower  in  Worcester  County,  at  first 
sight  suggesting  an  orchid  ;  the  slender  and  delicate  white  Smilacina 
tj-ifolia,  which,    almost  unconsciously  is  called   Lily-of-the-valley  ;   from 


13 


Pogonia. 


the  fringe  of  bushes  at  the  land's  edge,  the  -vvoolly-leaved  Labrador  tea 
( Ledum  latifoh'um  ) ,  a  rare  and  radiant  shrub  found  in  few  towns  in  the 
count}^  and  the  bell   blossoms  of  the   low-bush   blueberry  (  Varcinimn 

vaiil/a)is) .  Here,  beside 
the  brilliant  blossoms  of  the 
rhodora  ( Rhododendron  rho- 
dora  )  that  lighten  the  bleak 
bareness  of  the  bushes  just 
budding  into  leaf,  in  the 
midtlle  of  the  swamp,  just 
above  the  water  we  find, 
also,  an  earlier  and  exceed- 
ingly graceful  sister  of  the 
mountain  laurel,  the  deli- 
cate, fragile  pale  laurel 
(  Kahnia  olanca  )  .  The 
treacherous  moss  sinks  deep 
into  the  water  as  we  cross 
it,  and  the  air-holes  catch 
us,  drawing  us  into  their 
depths  until  we  fairly  gasp 
at  the  rush  of  cold  waters,  the  thick,  slimy  ooze  under  the  tangled 
roots  holding  the  feet  with  almost  overpowering  suction.  But  it  is  a 
rich  treasure  house  of  flowers,  a  delight  and  a  joy  to   remember  forever 

after — just  such  a  bed  as  would  attract  the 

fairest   and    daintiest    of    New   England's  1 

jewels — the  brightest   colored  and   choicest 
of  the  flowers. 

Pearl  street,  itself,  leads  to  Ashburn- 
ham  Centre  and  Meeting-house  Hill,  with 
its  wonderful  views.  It  is  well  worth  climlv 
ing  the  great  hill  to  stand  on  the  north 
brow  and  look  across  the  Xaukeags  with 
their  wooded  islands,  "when  the  gold  of 
evening  meets  the  dusk  of  night ;  "  a  view 
unsurpassed,  save,  perhaps,  on  L,ake 
George.  On  the  way  home,  in  late  sum- 
mer, we  find  a  rattlesnake  orchis  (  Good- 
vera  pubcscois)  by  the  roadside,  and  note  the  curious  mark- 
ings of  the  leaves.  We  may  drive  straight  on  from  Pearl  street  to  the 
very  edge   of  the  town,  to  Worthington  Park,  at  the  end  of  the   road, 


14 


15 

and  looking  at  the  fire-scorched  ruins,  reflect  upon  the  transitor}'  na- 
ture of  all  earthly  plans.  Between  the  high  cellar- walls  the  fireweed 
(  Epilobium  aiigustifolium  )  glows  with  brilliant  color,  contrasting  with 
the  blackened  trunks  of  the  ancient  trees. 

Then  to   the  right,   down   the   steep   hill,  we  ride  for  an  hour  or 
more,  on  winding  roads,  through  thicket  and  brush, 

"A  land  of  trees,  which  reaching  round  about. 
In  shady  Idessing  stretched  their  ohl  arms  out, 
With  spots  of  sunny  openings," 


Moccasin  Flower. 


in  the  shade  of  maple,  pine  and  oak  woods,  silent,  cool,  and  filled  with 

beauties,  where 

"  The  pines  are  whispering  in  the  breeze 
Wliispering — then  hushing,  half  in  awe — 
Their  legends  of  primeval  seas," 

emerging   finally  tipon  the   broad   highway  in   the  middle  of  Ashburn- 
ham,  to  rettirn  throtigh  the  long  village  street  at  the  Jtmction. 


i6 


Cbapel  Street. 

Or,  we  may  take  the  Beech  Hill  road  to  Westminster,  and,  on  the 
right,  enter  an  abandoned  road  that  plnnges  at  once  into  brush  and 
brier,  where  the  tall  grass  reaches  to  the  carriage.  On  a  low  rise  of 
land  fronting  the  shining  rails  of  the  railroad,  are  the  cellar-holes  of 
several   buildings,    with   fruit  trees  run  wild   around    them.     Cherries 

hang  ripe  and  red  on  the 
trees  ;  lilac  bushes,  luxuri- 
ant in  their  a1)andonment, 
flaunt  their  colors  on  either 
side  above  tlie  cellar,  where 
the  decaying  timbers  are 
overrun  willi  raspberries, 
the  fruit  large,  rich  and 
tempting.  But  when  we 
learn  the  story  of  the  place, 
we  rememlier  with  regret. 
Many  years  ago  this  was 
a  thriving  New  England 
farm,  with  sons  and  daugh- 
ters around  the  hearthstone 
looking  forward  to  life's 
blessings.  To  this  house- 
hold disease  suddenly  came 
— a  foul  and  loath.some  disease  that  struck  down  one  after  another,  and 
drove  in  horror  every  friend  and  neighbor  from  them.  The  father, 
taken  ill,  died  of  small-pox,  and  was  hastily  buried  on  the  farm  itself. 
The  house  became  as  if  accursed.  Provisions  were  brought  only  to 
the  wall  down  the  road.  Im- 
agine, if  you  can,  the  last  sad 
scene  of  this  pitiful  history, 
when  the  mother,  alone  with 
her  sick,  in  her  sorrow  and 
almost  broken  by  the  strain  of 
her  weeks  of  watching,  stood 
all  one  night  by  the  bedside  of  her  dying  child.  Then  she  went  away 
forever.  So  the  buildings  were  left  to  decay,  with  a  horror  attached, 
that  for  years  has  kept  all  human  kind  away  from  them,  leaving  the 
lonely  graves  to  grow  each  passing  year  more  loneh', — 


Wild  Calla. 


Andalusite  Crystals. 

:  Crvslal  I,:ike.) 


17 


"Where  roses  blossomed,  branches  now  o'erspread  ; 
The  niournful  ruins  bid  the  spirit  weep, 
The  broken  fragments  stay  the  passing  tread." 

On  the  left  is  where  a  soldier  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars  set- 
tled, Chapel,  for  whom  the  street  was  named.  He  died  in  1820,  at  the 
age  of  one  hundred  and  three  years,  the  oldest  person  who  has  died  in 
Gardner. 

The  swamp  across  the  railroad  entices  ns  with  its  promises  of  hid- 
den treasures,  for  here  from  the   sphagnum  moss  in  the   water,  among 


'Where  Roses  Blossomed." 


the  white  blossoms  of  the  cranberry  (  [  ^acciniinii  ))iacrocarpon  ) ,  spring 
one  of  the  prettiest  of  the  orchis  family,  the  pink  flower  of  the  beauti- 
ful \)&2lxA  {  Pogonia  ophioglossiodcs^j .  And  its  beautiful  sister,  the  In- 
dian pink  (  Calopogon  pidcheUiis  )  is  near,  its  rich  purple  blossoms  con- 
trasting strangely  delicate  beside  the  cat-tails.  Careless  of  ever}-thing, 
save  the  delight  of  communing  with  Nature  in  her  home,  we  wade  far 
out  into  the  treacherous  waters  to  find  the  wild  calla  (  Calla  paliistris  ) 
hiding  its  pure  white  petals  in  the  very  heart  of  the  swamp,  reserving 
its  beauties  for  those  who  love  it  and  seek  it  in  its  retreat.  In  early 
spring  the  flower  masses  of  white  almost  cover  the  waters — a  beautiful 
picture. 


i8 

We  may  go  on  over  Beech  hill  to  enjoy  the  views,  or  turn  sharply 
to  the  right  to  cross  the  country  to  the  Betty  Spring  road  near  West- 
minster, returning  laden  with  flowers,  and  listening  to 

"  The  breeze  murmuring  in  the  musical  woods 
Where  the  embowering  trees  recede,  and  leave 
A  little  space  of  green  expanse." 

XTbc  IRortb  1Roa^9. 

From  the  Windsor  House  as  a  starting  point,  we  drive  north  ex- 
pectantly, for  the  woods  run  together  for  miles  and  the  houses  are  few. 
We  may  go  to  the  right  over  Matthews'  hill,  with  berries  in  abundance 


The  Purple  Fringed  Orchis  at  Home. 

on  either  side,  and  keep  on  through  the  swamp,  past  ancient  home- 
steads indicated  by  abandoned  cellar-holes,  to  Pearl  street ;  or  go  north 
to  the  end  of  the  road  at  the  Nashua  reservoir,  enjoying  every  rod  of 
the  wooded  drive. 

But  when  the  day   is  young  and  we  want  a  long  drive,  we   go  on 
past  the  great  elm  at   Page's  (the  largest  in  Gardner)  through  woods 

that  seldom  see  a  carriage,  where 

"  *  *  *  fantastic  aisles 

Wind  from  the  sight  in  brightness  and  are  lost 

Among  the  crowded  pillars," 


19 

over  a  brush-grown  road  that  leads  for  miles  without  a   house,  through 

the  swamps,  where,  in  June, 

"  The  Atlantic  June, 
Whose  caleudar  of  perfect  days  is  kept 
By  daily  blossoming  of  some  new  flower." 

the  azalea  (  Rhodode7id7'07i  nudijiorum  )  blooms  on  acres  and  acres  of 
bushes,  where  the  moccasin  flower,  or  lady's  slipper  (  Cyptipedium 
acaiile),  another  of  the  orchis  family,  boasts  its  careless  wealth  of 
color,  and  where  the  coltimbine  (  Aquilegia  Canadensis  ) ,  daintiest  and 
most  graceful  of  flowers,  welcomes  tis  to  her  home  on  the  fern-covered 
bank.  Every  little  while  we  pass  a  deserted  "cellar-hole"  and  tell 
again  the  varying  life  histories  of  their  former  owners  ;  some  sad,  some 
tragic,  all  pathetic.  All  the  way  we  delight  in  the  profusion  of  flowers, 
for  the  pyrola  and  its  white  sisters  lie  in  beds  about  us,  the  Indian-pipe 
is  tinder  almost  every  bush  and  by  every  log,  while  the  one-flowered 
pyrola,  the  exquisite  star  of  the  Moneses  grandifloi-a,  forces  an  excla- 
mation of  genuine  pleasure  from  us,  when  we  see  a  great  bed  of  its 
pure  white,  wax}-  petals  under  the  spreading  branches  of  a  pine. 
Abundant  in  this  vicinity,  it  is  unknown  elsewhere  in  the  county.  The 
swamps  in  the  woods  fairly  glow  with  the  beautiful  blossoms  of  the 
purple-fringed  orchis  {  Habcnaria  finibriafa  ) ,  most  precious  and  mo.st 
sought-for  of  all  the  season's  flowers.  How  the  heart  thrills  at  the 
flrst  sight  of  the  delicate,  fragile  blos.soms  gleaming  white  against  the 
dark  background  of  the  woods.  Here  in  the  dense  woods,  where  the 
sun  never  shines, 

"  In  the  deep  glen,  oi-  the  close  shade  of  pines," 
we   find   the  great  green   orchis   {Habe7iaria  oj-biculata) ,  \\\\os^  large, 
ftill-orbed  leaves  add  to  its  royal  dignity. 

At  the  four  corners  we  can  go  west  to  force  a  narrow  way  through 
brush  that  sadly  scratches  the  carriage  to  the  little  red  schoolhouse  on 
the  main  Winchendon  road ;  and  once  we  used  to  go  east  to  the  Junc- 
tion, but  now  the  road  is  discontinued.  Here  in  the  swamps,  the  curi- 
ous fly-trap,  or  pitcher  plants  (  Sar7-ace7iia  pn7p7i7-ca  ) ,  grow  in  hundreds 
and' we  watch  them 

"  How  at  the  dawn  they  wake,  and  open  wide 
Their  little  petal  windows  " 

safe  here  from  all  intrusion  by  man,  and 

"  The  passion  they  express  all  day 
In  burning  color,  steals  forth  with  the  dew 
All  night  in  odor." 

and   the   ragged   fringed-orchis  (  Habcna7i'a  lacera  )    keeps  them   com- 
pany.    So  we  keep  straight  on  to  leave  the  woods  at  last  at  the  A.stor 


20 


'  Leafless  are  the  trees;  their  purple  branches 
Spread  themselves  abroad,  like  reefs  of  coral  rising  sileut 
In  the  Red  Sea  of  the  winter  sunset." 


21 


House,  the  old  tavern  on  the  turnpike  at  Burrageville,  in  North  Ash- 
burnham,  the  home  of  the  yellow  meadow  or  Canada  lily,  the  fairies' 
or  witches'  cap  {Liliuni  Canadense^,  whose  branched  stems  and 
graceful  drooping  bells  remind  us  of  candelabra  in  some  ancient 
cathedral.  The  meadows  and  even  the  roadside  are  rich  to  prodigality 
with  the  golden  bells,  and  the  delicate,  smaller  purple  f ringed-orchis 
{Habcnaria  psycodes)  growing 

"  Reside  a  brook  in  mossy  forest  dell  " 
hardly  lessens  our  admiration  by  the  glory  of  its  richer  beauty.  By  the 
bridge  we  once  picked  a  ^^^^^^^^^^  large  cluster  of  purple 
meadow-rue  {Thalictrum  ^^^^^^^^^H  piirpurascens) ,  more 
delicate  than  its  graceful  ^^^^^^^^^1  sister.  We  return  by 
the  great  mill-dam  and  ^^HRR^^^H  ^^^'^  ^^"^^  ^^^  school- 
house,  where  the  roads  ^^^bp^^^B  corner,  and  on  either 
side,  in  a  little  way,  corner  ^^^Hb^^^H  in  fours  again,  making 
eight  different  roads  at  ^^^P!^^^^^|  <^^^^  service,  each  with 
its  own  peculiar  and  ^^Hft^^^^B  inviting  charms.  One 
is  the  old  toll-road,  bring-  ^^^Rf^H^|  "^S  ^^^  °"^  "^^^  ^^^ 
Town  Farm;  another  ^^BK^^^^|  climbs  the  great  hill, 
and     passing     for     miles    ^^^^^B^^^^^B    under 


Pitcher  Plant. 


Ragged  Fringed  Orchis. 


Great  Green  Orchis. 


"  green-robed  senators  of  mighty  woods. 
Tall  oaks,  branch-charmed  by  the  earnest  stars  " 

becomes  Stone  street,  in  Gardner,  one  of  the  prettiest  drives  in  town; 
and  by  another  we  go  to  old  Winchendon  to  enjoy  a  particularly  fine 
view  of  Monadnock  on  the  way. 

All  through  these  woods  we  catch  glimpses  of  the  brown  rabbit 
hopping  along  in  front  of  us,  and  every  little  while  the  whir-r-r  of  the 
partridge  startles  us  from  our  reveries.     Once  we  drove  into  the  midst 


22 


of  a  3^oung  famil}-,  and  instantly  the  mother-bird  fluttered  by  the 
carriage,  apparently  hurt  unto  death,  causing  eager  pursuit  through 
the  bushes  until  she  had  led  us  a  safe  distance;  then,  recovering,  she 
flew  far  away;  we  almost  fancied  we  heard  a  laugh  as  she  left  us.  Her 
little,  brown-backed  children  hid  themselves  under  the  brush,  keeping 
absolutely  quiet  while  we  stood  over  them  watching  their  nervous 
heart  throbbings. 


Meadow    Lily. 


The  long,  bushy  tail  of  the  fox  is  sometimes  seen  disappearing 
through  the  bushes  ahead,  indicating  "good  hunting"  here,  and  the 
dust  in  sunnner  and  the  snow  in  winter  bear  the  imprint  of  the  raccoon 
in  almost  perfect  imitation  of  a  baby's  foot. 

The  red  squirrel  abounds,  for  nuts  are  plenty,  and,  with  the  wood- 
pecker for  company,  an  occasional  chipnuink  or  rare  gray  squirrel  fill 
the  woods  with  life. 


23 


SNOWY  OWL. 


24 

Otters  once  frequented  the  river  named  from  them,  Otter  River,  and 
are  still  found  there;  a  wildcat  was  recently  killed  near  the  Nashua 
reservoir,  and  a  Snowy  Owl,  from  Canada,  in  1882  strayed  to  its  death 
on  Glazier  Hill.  Two  or  three  deer  have  visited  here  in  late  years, 
probably  driven  south  by  the  severe  winters. 


1        "^  '"^'^'^'^'^'"W  WLf*'*^-w,iiiW  ■— 


TLbc  IkneelauD  /IDai&3. 

Crime,  sorrow,  disease,  the  wrong  of  man  to  man,  and  man 
to  woman  have  not  spared  our  peaceful  town  in  the  century  of  its 
life,  and  the  dense  growth  of  its  great  woods,  for  miles  seldom  trodden 
by  man,  hide  man}-  a  dark  mystery,  the  shame  of  many  a  crime. 

As  we  drive  through  the  West  Village  with  its  thronging  homes, 
we  turn  aside,  near  the  curv^e  in  the  railroad,  to  visit  a  gravel-knoll 
half  a  mile  from  the  road,  secluded  and  covered  with  wood.     On  this 


The  Kneeland  Place. 

low  hill,  (debris  of  a  moraine  dating  from  the  glacial  epoch)  a  hunter, 
a  few  years  since,  found  in  the  shade  of  a  tree  a  withered  human  body, 
with  a  rope  around  the  neck  and  a  broken  end  hanging  from  a  limb 
overhead.  He  had  lain  there  two  or  three  years,  unknown,  un.seen, 
perhaps  never  niis.sed.  The  mystery  of  the  suicide  remains  to  this  da}' 
unsolved,  and,  buried  on  the  spot,  the  sleep  of  the  faint-heart  continues 
unbroken  under  the  tree  he  chose,  in  a  lonely  and  .soon-to-be-forgotten 
grave. 

We  linger  a  moment  near  here,  in  the  bed  of  the  brook,  to  rejoice 
in  the  wealth  of  flowers  that  greets  us  on  every  side,  for  the  purple 
monkey-face    {Miuiulus    ringeyis)    hides    under    the    bushes,    with    the 


26 

sku.\l-cai>  (Scufel/arm  galericidata)  beside  it;  near  by  the  daint}' blue 
and  yellow  of  the  "ruby  grape  of  Proserpine,"  the  nightshade  {Sol- 
anum  dulcamara)  hangs  close  to  to  the  golden  blossoms  of  the  jewel- 
weed  {Impatiens  pallida)  \  below  us  the  pool  is  white  with  arrow  head 
(  Saggitaria  variabilis  )  ;   from  our  feet  rises  a  great  club  of  thorough- 


"  The  red  ])eniioiis  of  the  cardinal 
flowers 
Hang  motionless  upon  their  upright 
staves." 

wort,  or  boneset  {  Eiipatoyiion  pcrfoliaiion  ) ,  \\\\\\q.  in  the  foreground 
the  brilliant  cardinal-flower  {Lobelia  cardinalis).  High  Priest  of  the 
Tabernacle,  stands  stately,  erect  and  magnificent  in  all  the  bright  glory 
of  its  coloring. 

Then  on  through  the  valley,  where  the  swamp  flowers  abound, 
white  lilies  lie  in  the  sun,  and,  late  in  the  summer,  great  beds  of  purple 
asters,  harbingers  of  autumn,  fill  the  roadside  with  their  masses  of  star- 
like  blossoms.  Turning  to  the  right  in  East  Templeton,  we  swing 
rapidly  down  the  long,  exhilerating  curves  of  the  hill  to  Bailey  brook, 
through  woods  that  the  twin-flower  (  Limuea  borealis )   loves,  and  the 


27 

air  is  filled  with  its  fragrance —  one  of  the  flowers  that  conduce  to 
thought,  through  which 

"  Ever  the  words  of  the  gods  resound  ; 

But  the  porches  of  man's  ear 
Seldom,  in  this  life's  low  round, 
Are  unsealed,  that  he  may  hear." 

The  twin-flower  is  no  longer  found  in  Worcester  county  outside  of  the 
few  northern  towns,  so  the  great  beds  in  Gardner  are  especially  inter- 
esting. 

As  we  return  on  the  circuit,  at  the  head  of  Parker's  pond  and  the 
junction   of  Wilder  and   Kneeland   brooks,  almost  within   sound  of  the 


Near  the  Kneeland  Place. 

busy  life  of  Gardner,  we  find,  by  the  foot  of  a  tall  tree,  a  faint  cellar- 
hole  marking  the  site  of  the  home  of  the  Kneeland  Maids.  They  were 
two  aged  sisters,  daughters  of  Timothy  Kneeland,  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  in  Gardner,  fotind  beaten  to  death  in  their  beds  in  March,  1855. 
The  buildings  were  destroyed  b\-  fire  the  following  May,  and  a  crime 
that  filled  the  whole  state  with  horror,  and  caused,  to  the  timid,  fear 
and  apprehension  for  many  a  long  ^-ear  thereafter — a  crime  that  was  as 
brutal  and  cowardly  as  any  in  the  history  of  the  Commonwealth,  went 
unpunished  by  man,  and  after  forty  years  leaves  the  ashes  of  a  once 
happy  home  its  onh-  reminder. 

Or  keep  on  through  East  Tenipleton,  turning  to  look  at  the  great 
■blossoms  on  the  tulip-tree  ( Liriodcndron  tiilipifera  )  at  the  corner  of  the 
Parkhurst  house-lot,  and   as  you   climb   the  long  Ladder  hill,  note  an 


28 


RHODORA. 


29 

especially  attractive  view— Gardner  and  its  multitude  of  houses  framed 
in  by  the  walls  of  earth.  All  roads  that  are  before  you  are  invit- 
ing, but  if  you  have  the  time,  go  down  into  and  across  the  Ware  River 
valley,  through  the  Four  Corners,  and  swing  home  through  Phillipston 
Centre  and  Goulding  Village,  across  the  Great  Meadows,  where  pout 
and  pickerel  thrive.  On  such  a  trip,  if  in  late  July,  one  may  find,  in  a 
hollow  between  the  Phillipston  hills,  a  great  cluster  of  purple  loose- 
strife (  Lvthruin  salicai-ia  )  crowning  the  marsh,  standing  as  brilliantly 
erect  as  in  its  native  land  in  the  days  of  Ophelia. 


Bickford-Travers  Mill-Dam. 

"There  is  a  willow  grows  aslant  a  brook 
That  shows  his  hoar  leaves  in  the  glassy  stream, 
There  with  fantastic  garlands  did  she  come 
Of  crow  flowers,  nettles,  daisies  and  long  purples 
That  liberal  shepherds  give  a  grosser  name, 
But  our  cold  maids  do  dead  meu's  fingers  call  them." 

To  get  far  away  from  the  noise  of  the  town,  turn  south  from  East 
Templeton  to  Hubbardston,  over  Mine  hill.  The  road  terraces  the 
.steep  hillside,  with  precipitous  depths  beneath  in  the  shadows  of  the 
woods ;   the  cur\'es  under  the  hill  reminding  us  of  the  famous  Geyser 


30 

grade.     Here  the  railing  is  for  actual  use,  and  we  can  almost  level  with 
our  eyes  the  top  of  the  tall  hemlock  that  grows  ju«t  below  the  road. 

"  Steep  is  the  side  *   *  *  shaggy  and  vvikl 
With  mossy  trees  and  pinnacles  of  flint 
And  many  a  hanging  crag." 

It  makes  little  difference  whether  you  return  by  the  way  of  Ragged 
hill  and  through  the  long  woods  below  the  Pail  Factory,  where  the 
Mayflower  (  lipigaa  rcpcns  )  first  blooms  every  spring,  and  "the  green 
vistas  arch  like  the  hollows  of  mighty  waves  of  some  crystalline  sea  ;  " 
or  go  on  through  Htil)l)ardston  in  a  wilderness  of  drives  ;  a  glorious 
prospect,  with  woods  and  ponds  alternating  in  an  unending  pageant  of 
pleasure.  The  wild  calla  (  Cat  la  palusfn's  )  haunts  the  swamps,  and 
we  pick  several  varieties  of  tick-trefoil  as  we  drive  along.  The  morn 
ing-glory  (  Coiivo/viihts  .  l))ifriraiius  )  bells  cover  the  walls  and  rock- 
piles,  and  the  wild  bean  (  Apios  tubcrosa  )  barricades  the  banks.  Re- 
turning from  Hubbardston  with  a  bunch  of  brilliant  red  Oswego  tea- 
heads  (  A/oiiarda  didynia  )  we  drive  slowly  by  the  old  mill-dam  of  the 
Bickford  mill,  the  first  ])uilt  in  town,  destroyed  by  fire  August  20,  1895. 
On  Kendall  hill,  l)eliind  the  station,  where  the  old  turnpike  crossed  the 
brow  of  the  hill,  a  few  elms  still  stand  sentinel  over  the  site  of  the 
Jackson  house,  the  first  house  built  in  Gardner.  Here  the  "bright 
chalices"  of  the  painted-ctip  (  Castillcia  coccinca  )  glow 

"  In  the  green  like  flakes  of  fire," 

its  scarlet  tufts 

"  Tinted  thus  to  hold  the  dew  for  fairies." 


From  photo  by  F.  H.  Brown. 

Jackson  House. 

Piuilt  1764' 


®n  Glacier  Mill. 


One  of  the  earliest  settlers  had  the  courage  (  and  love  of  nature  ) 
to  build  his  house  on  the  top  of  Glazier  hill,  where  the  reservoir  now 
is.  He  sold  in  1772,  to  John  Glazier,  from  whom  the  hill  takes  its 
present  name.  The  house  now  stands  on  Morrill  street,  and  is  the 
oldest  in  town.  In  it  was  held  the  first  town  meeting  in  Gardner.  As 
we  climb  the  hill,  the  winding  road  brings  us  fresh  surprises  at  every 
turn,  for  we  are  on  a  great  pyramid  with  all  the  Commonwealth  spread 
out  before  us,  and 

*****   "The  mountains  that  infold 
In  their  wide  sweep,  the  colored  landscape  round, 
Seem  groups  of  giant  kings,  in  purple  and  gold, 
That  guard  the  enchanted  ground." 


Twin  Flower. 

From  the  first  blush   of    morning,    mantling  the    face   of    Wachtisett, 
.standing  huge  and  solitary  in  the  plain,  twelve  miles  away  to  the  south, 
to  the  last  red  arrow  shot  by  the  setting  sun  against  the  dark  blue  mass 
of  Monadnock,  watchman  of  the  Northern  hills,  one  of  the 
"  Mountain  columns  with  which  earth  ]iro])s  heaven  ;  " 

from  the  faint  gray 

"  The  pure  mist — the  pity  of  the  sea 
Coming  as  a  soft  white  hand," 

to   curtain  the  beds  of  the  flowers  in   the  swamps  in  early   morning,  to 
the  drawing  of  the  fog-covers  over  the  rivers,  reflecting  golden  glories 


32 

of  the  sky  at  sunset ;  we  watch  the  wonderful  transformations,  as  the 

sun  lights  up  the  woodlands,  shadows  the  long  lines  of  hills,  and  turns 

the 

"  Waters  resting  in  the  embrace  of  the  wide  forest," 

into  quiv^ering  glowing  quicksilver,   instinct  with  life,   and  color  and 

beauty — 

"  A  hundred  hills  their  dusky  backs  upheaved 
All  over  this  still  ocean  ;  and  beyond 
Far,  far  beyond,  the  solid  vapour  stretched 
In  headlands,  tongues  and  promontory  shapes," 

and  all  the  fair  land  at  our  feet  reminds  us  of  the  gardens  of  Armidas 
of  which  Tasso  sings, 

"Still  lakes  of  silver,  streams  that  murm'ring  crept, 

Hills,  on  whose  sloping  brows  the  sunbeams  slept ; 

Luxuriant  trees,  that  various  forms  displayed, 

And  valleys,  grateful  with  refreshing  shade  ; 

Herbs,  flow'rets,  gay  with  many  a  gaudy  dye. 

And  wood,  and  arching  grottos  meet  the  eye." 


33 


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34 


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■tRc^cmption  IRocI^. 

An  eight-mile  drive  takes  us  through  Westminster  by  the  left  side 
of  Wachusett  Lake,  near  the  foot  of  Wachusett  Mountain,  to  the 
broad-topped  Redemption  rock,  just  by  the  roadside;  its  further  side 
twenty  feet  above  the  grass.     The  inscription  on  its    face  tells  its  story. 


From  Photo. 


Redemption  Rock. 


We  may  everywhere  find  flowers,  rare  and  beautiful,  but  we  have 
a  choice  as  to  where  to  go  at  different  .seasons.  On  Lynde  hill,  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  town,  the  hepaticas  (  Hcpatica  striloba  )  grow 

"  WKen  spring  unlock.s  the  flowers  to  paint 
the  laughing  soil  ;  " 

Checkerberries,  or  wintergreen,  (  Gaidthcria  procumbcns  )  redden  Bick- 
ford's  or  Parker's  hill,  with  their  abundance  ;  and  in  summer  the 
smaller  orchid,  ladies'  tresses  ( Spiranthcs  gracilis  )  twists  tlirough  the 
dying  grasses  on  Glazier  hill.  By  Crystal  Lake  the  white  laurel  (  Kal- 
viia  latifolia  )  and  the  lamb-kill,  or  sheep  laurel  {Kalmia  aiigustifolia  ) 
relieve  the  darkness  of  the  woods  ;  the  American  brooklime    ^  Veronica 


36 

Americana)  shields  itself  from  prying  eyes  ;  and  in  the  fields  on  the 
hillsides  rising  from  its  waters,  we  find  the  pimpernel  {A^iagallis 
arve7isis)  and  the  corn  cockle  {Lychnis  git/iago) .  The  fringed  polygala 
{Polygala  pauci folia)  grows  abundantly  on  Greenwood  Hill.  The 
maiden  hair  fern  is  no  longer  found  in  Gardner,  but  still  flourishes  in 
some  favored  spots  in  Tenipleton.  The  wood  anemone  {Ancjuone 
nemorosa),  the  "wind-flower,"  grows  in  great  abundance  in  the  low 
land  near  the  pail  factor}';  the  European  hawkweed  {Hicracium  auran- 
tiacuvi),  "the  devil's  paint-brush,"  may  be  found  on  the  roads  to  the 
east,  and  the  rhodora  {Rhododendron  rhodora),  brilliantly  beautiful  in 
its  purple  brightness,  may  be  found  on  every  hill  and  in  every  swamp. 
On  one  road  to  the  north  is  a  quarter-acre  lot  that  is  fairly  covered  with 
these  bushes,  every  one  a  mass  of  color,  in  the  spring.  The  beautiful 
white  fringed  orchis  {Habcnaria  blephariglottis)  lines  the  edge  of  one 
swamp  on  East  street,  and  is  found  in  several  others.  Beech-drops,  a 
curious  parasite  (  Epiphegus  Virginiana  )  are  abundant  in  the  woods 
by  Crystal  Lake. 


BE 


■y)i0m,^<<!i^ 


From  Pliuto.  Xhe  Inscription. 

Redemption  Rock. 


37 


:>'->i^- 


:^ 


38 


Upper  Cove. 


'  Lake  of  the  hills,  where  cool  and 

sweet, 
Thy  sunset  waters  lie." 


Broun^  Cri^stal  Xafte. 


For  a  varied  and  interesting  drive  start  from  Monument  Square 
and  go  past  the  green  lawns  on  the  hill,  past  the  smooth,  rich  fields  of 
the  Hey  wood  Farm,  and  turn  to  the  left.  Crystal  Lake  lies  before  us 
as  a  brilliant  jewel,  with  its  setting  of  green;   to  the   north,  Monadnock, 

black  and  forbidding,  bars  the  view.  Bj' 
the  lakeside,  in  September,  we  chance 
upon  the  latest,  and  almost  the  fairest  of 
the  season's  flowers — the  wary,  fringed 
gentian  {Gcntiana  cri)iita) 

"colored  with  heaven's  own  blue," 
the  flower  of  which  the  poet  sings, 

■•Four  plumes  from  the  bluel)ir<rs  wing,  as  fast 

to  the  south  he  flew 
The  Angel  of  Flowers  caught  them  up  as  they 

fell  in  the  autumn  dew, 
And  shaped  with  a  twirl  of  her  fingers  this  spire 

of  feathery  blue." 

By  its  side  is  the  slender-twisted  white 
orchis,  ladies'  tresses  {Spifanthcs  cennia.) 
Earlier  in  the  year,  the  strange  sundew 
{Drosera  rotiindifolia) ,  with  carniverous 
leaves  feeding  on  insects  attracted  by  the 
sweet  "dew"  that  glistens  like  a  tiny  web 
of  diamond  dust,  raises  its  drooping  head 
in  the  meadow  farther  north,  and  a  great 
bed  of  wood -sorrel  {Oxalis  acetosella)  lights 
itp  the  roadside  at  the  archway  under  the 
Fringed  Gentian.  trees.     The  rose-like  blossoms  of  the  purple 

flowering  raspberry  {Riibus  odoratus^ ,  a  plant  somewhat  uncommon  in 
Worcester  County,  attracts  us  to  its  home  under  some  great  oaks 
and  chestnuts,  where  its  abundance  gives  it  unusual  dignity;  while 
over  our  heads,  the  golden  woodpecker  and  oriole  fly  back  and  forth. 
From  otir  windows  in  the  winter  we  look  out  on  the  snow  depths  after 


40 


a  severe  ' '  cold  spell ' '  to  watch  the  little  brown  Labrador  birds  hopping 
in  the  branches,  for  thej'  only  come  in  the  coldest  of  mid-winter,  from 
their  far  northern  home.  From  the  edge  of  the  woods  we  gather  a 
large  bnnch  of  closed  gentians  (  Gcntiana  Andreivsii),  the 


Closed  Gentians. 

"  Flower  all  elusive,  <juar(ling  alike  from  the 
rain  and  the  sun 
The  mystical  heart  of  thyself," 

to  brighten  the  rooms  at  home  for 

"  vSeven  threads  of  light 
Morning's  gold  and  evenings'  red. 
Braided  with  the  starry  night," 

week  after  week,  sometimes  keep- 
ing fresh  and  bright  with  tindimmed 
color  for  fiveor  six  weeks.  In  sum- 
mer we  follow  the  road  through 
fields  fragrant  with  flowers  and  ber- 
ries.     The   bnshes  are    blue    with 

high  bush  blueberries  ;  great  cltisters  of  blackberries 

hang  coyly  under  the  leaves,  and 


An  Orchis. 


Cardinal   Tlower. 


41 


^'■\ 


W 


"  Along  the  roadside,  like  the  flowers  of  gold 
That  tawny  Incas  for  their  gardens  wrought, 
Heavy  with  sunshine  droops  the  goldenrod," 

the  flower  most  typical  of  sturdy  American  energy  and  independence. 

throwing  to  the  ]:)reeze  its  graceful  richness  of  delicac}-  and  color.     A 

branch  of  brilliant  maple  leaves,  rival- 
ling the  sunset  inline,  waves  gently 
to  and  fro,  a  warning  of  the  chill  of 
winier  soon  to  come.  Two  great  elms, 
guarding  a  deserted  homestead  at 
the  end  of  the  road,  indicate  the  long 
battle  with  fortune  fought  b}'  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Gardner.  The 
grass  under  the  great  trees,  dried  by 
the  fierce  August  heats,  invites  us  to 
its  soft  embrace, 

"*  *  *  *  bright  clouds, 
^Motionless  pillars  of  the  brazen  heaven, — 
Their  bases  on  the  mountains — their  white 
tops 
lining  in  the  far  ether, — fire  the  air 
,\'ith  a  reflected  radiance," 

and     we    rejoice  in   all   the    glorious 
wealth   of  display   and  generous  pro- 
fusion of  the  waning  of  a    New  Eng- 
land summer. 
In  the  darkest  corner  of  the  dark 
woods  we   seek   and   find    another  of 
the    ghost    flower  family,  the   many- 
flowered  Indian  pipe  ( Mo)iotropa   hy- 
popitys  ) . 

Beautiful  as  the  location  is,  the 
desolation  of  the  fine  old  homestead 
strikes  us  to  the  heart,  and  the  sense 
of  loneliness  grows  within  us  when  we 
learn  that  a  few  years  since,  there 
was  found  under  the  bushes  by  the 
road,  where  it  had  l)een  hidden  for 
more  than  sixty  }ears,  a  skeleton, 
with  a  l)ullet-liole  through  the  griii- 
nincr  skull.     The  careful  concealment 


Indian  Pipe. 

(  Maiiy-acnvcrcil.) 


42 

of  the  body  forbids  a  charitible  solution  and  couples  the  dreadful 
bullet-hole  with  crime  alone.  The  silence  of  sixty  years  grows  into 
the  silence  of  eternity,  and  the  white  bones  of  the  victim  may  rest 
peacefully  in  a  soon  forgotten  grave  ;  the  momentary  uncovering  of  the 
tragedy  excites  only  passing  comment,  and  the  curtain  falls  as  the  in- 
cident sinks  into  oblivion. 


i-u'    ,;-  .^*^/.< 


43 


"  The  whispering  pines  meet  in  converse." 


44 


But  when  the  spirit  moves  you  some  bright  day  in  early  summer 
when  the  sun's  heat  hastens  all  vegetation  forward,  drive  west  through 
"Little  Canada,"  l)y  Cr\stal  Lake,  and  see  the  floating  hearts  { Liin- 
m-mthcmuDi  lar/tiios/iiii  )  covering  the  surface,  with  the  slender  pipewort 
(  Eriocaitlon    scptcDigularc  )    tlirusting   its  white     points     beside    them. 


The  White  Beach,  Lake  Denison. 

Go  past  Bailey  brook,  with  its  vistas  of  reflections  and  promises  of 
autumnal  glories  in  the  foliage  on  its  banks,  where 

"  Down  bend  the  banks,  the  trees  depending 
grow, 
And  skies  beneath  with  answering  colours 
glow," 

past  the  meadows,  yellow  in  spring  with  cowslip  blossoms  (  Calf  ha 
pahistris  )  and  the  golden  ragwort  (  Seiiccio  aureus  ),  down  the  long  hill 
where  the  rhodora  grows,  its  frail,  naked  blossoms  lighting  up  the 
whole  bleak  pasture,  on  down  to  the  head  of  the  Reservoir,  where  the 
whispering  pines  meet  in  converse  overhead,  and  form 

"*****    a  pillared  shade 
Upon  whose  grassless  floor  of  red-brown  hue," 


46 


we  find  a  rich  treasury  of  flowers.  Let  the  horse  walk  awhile,  for  the 
yellow  clover  (  Trifolium  agrariuni  )  is  sweet  here,  and  earlier  in  the 
year  the  brilliant  red  of  the  fringed  polygala  (  Polygala  paucifolia  ) 
catches  the  eye.  An  old  stump,  cut  when  the  pond  was  first  flowed, 
has  a  tiny  seedling  pine  starting  from  its  top,  delighting  the  children 
when  it  is  pointed  out  as  a   "  curiosity."      From  this  pond  great  turtles 


*^'^ 

^i#: 
^     ^-U             ^ 

**  V;,   ^  mM       m 

m\y 

V'       "W 

^   ur                   .  "" 

Blueberry  Blossoms. 

come,  one  huge  fellow  weighing  over  fifty  pounds,  with  a  shell  over 
two  feet  in  diameter. 

We  stop  here  under  the  pines,  and,  looking  across  the  waters  of  the 
stumpy  pond,  .see  the  Templeton  hills  in  the  distance  ;  behind  us  the 
road  disappearing  in  a  vista  whose  beauty  lingers  in  our  memor}^  for 
many  a  day  thereafter.  Here  from  the  swampy,  brush-grown  recesses 
of  the  woods,  we  pluck  the  purple  fringed  orchis  {Habeiiaria  Jinihiata) . 
Here  the  ground  is  white  with  wax  flowers,  the  pyrolas,  pipsissewa  and 
moneses,  the  bunchberry  (  Comics  Ca?iadensis )  and  the  delicate  stars 
of  the  Dalibarda  repcns. 


47 

We  may  go  north  through  Winchendon,  south  through  Templeton, 
or  go  straight  on  through  Mill  Glen  to  Lake  Denison,  a  famous  ancient 
resort  of  the  Indians,  and  the  home  of  the  white  water-lih'  {Nymphaea 
odorata  ),  which  grows  here  in  thousands. 

"God's  plans  like  lilies  pure  and  white  unfold, 
We  must  not  tear  the  close  shut  leaves  apart, 
Time  will  reveal  the  calyxes  of  gold." 


The  Beryl  Mine. 


Near  the  lake  is  the  ford  across  Miller's  river,  beside  which  Mrs.  Row- 
landson  camped  with  the  Indians  on  her  return  to  Wachusett  for  ran- 
som, the  soldiers  abandoning  the  pursuit  on  the  farther  shore.  Beyond 
the  lake,  a  by-road  follows  the  abandoned  bed  of  the  railroad,  whose 
course  was  changed  to  the  other  side  of  the  river.  It  runs  straight  as 
an  arrow  for  nearly  two  miles,  at  one  time  high  above  the  swamp  on  an 
embankment,  at  another  ctitting  through  a  rocky  hill,  where  ledges 
tower  above  our  heads 

"Huge  pillars  that  in  middle  heaven  u])rear 
Their  weather-beaten  capitals." 

Overgrown  with  brush,  uncared  for,  in   the  spring  axle-deep   in  water 


48 


49 

at  one  end,  a  drive  on  such  a  road  is  an  inspiration  to  the  tired  worker, 

and 

"  The  calm  shade 
Shall  bring  a  kindred  calm,  and  the  sweet  breeze 
That  makes  the  green  leaves  dance,  shall  waft  a  balm 
To  thy  sick  heart." 

Whether  you  .g^o  on   to  the  beryl-mine,  or  the  granite  quarry  in   Royal- 
ston,  or  visit  Doane'sor  Forbes'  falls,  or  remain  quietly  at  Lake  Deni- 


Ladies'  Tresses. 

son  to  fish  and    pick   lilies,  and  dig  in   the  pure,  white   sand,  makes 
little  difference,  for 

"  *  *  *  All  that  is  most  beauteous  is  imaged  there 

In  happier  beauty  ;   more  pellucid  streams. 

An  ampler  ether,  a  diviner  air. 

And  fields  invested  with  purpureal  gleams." 

The  passing  of  the  seasons  is  reflected  in  the  flowers  by  the  way- 
side, and  as  the  heart  thrills  at  the  sight  of  the  first  mayflower  in  the 
spring,  so  it  is  chilled  by  the  coming  of  the  golden-rod  in  the  early 
autumn.  The  colors  of  the  prevailing  flowers  change,  too,  as  the  sea- 
sons wane,  for  the  delicate  white  and  yellow  of  the  violet  and  Clintonia 
borealis  pass  into  the  waxy-white  and  pink  of  the  larger  and  more 
ornate  laurel:  that  in  turn  into  the  richer  pink  and  purple  of  fleur-de-lis 


50 


WHITE-FRINGED    ORCHIS. 


51 

and  lily  and  trumpet-weed.  The  pure  white  of  the  daisy  is  succeeded 
by  the  brilliant  red  of  the  fireweed  and  the  yellow  of  the  primrose  and 
golden-rod,  and  they  again  by  the  deep  purples  of  the  asters,  until  late 
autumn  crowns  the  whole  with  the  gorgeous  coloring  of  the  changing 
maple  leaf ;  and  the  mantle  of  winter's  snow  softly  covers  all  the 
flowers,  to  await  in  safety  the  certain  resurrection  of  the  spring. 
For  there  is 

"A  little  drop  of  Heaven  in  each  diamond  of  the  shower, 
A  breath  of  the  Eternal  in  the  fragrance  of  each  flower." 


"  The  Beauty  which  old  Greece  or  Rome 
Sung,  painted,  wrought,  lies  close  at 
home  ; 
We  need  but  eyes  and  ear 
In  all  our  daily  walks  to  trace 
The  outlines  of  incarnate  grace, 
The  hymns  of  gods  to  hear  ! 


Found  in  the  Swamp. 

(  1850.) 


wli^M/ffj^''*^^  1 

^^Mw'' 

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^c>5iM^^H !  1 

g^^^^^^^^ii 

^^}i^^^|s 

^^JrvjH  wStt^^^VTlifc^i^^'^'r 

^'VjrtfviffrtiSLy 

'PKit*  ^StftTfriSifS? 

STftWrm^Sip 

W+pPv  |t]  WWi  J  f  1  ^f^^t\- 

^Trnl/rf;  r'tr^i^ 

liJ^^^(fi  k?!! ilr  tit-^'Tfe^li 

n^^^^Sww-MH 

|"ri;j:;|ipj|||}j^<:g; 


--.juomitjtioiiijuouM 


ugaBBiiiiiiaBaoQO 


